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TRAVIS HUNTER IS THE KEY!!! · Duval Daily: A Jacksonville Jaguars Podcast

• 0:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jacksonville Jaguar's fans, welcome in to Duval Daly Prison by Jinjak.com.
• 0:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Jordan Aluga.
• 0:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks so much for tuning in.
• 0:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Wednesday, February 11th, right now, I'm fired up to talk about Travis Hunter.
• 0:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Um, you know, there's a lot of different ways to look at the Travis Hunter situation for the Jaguars and his development, all that stuff.
• 0:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm excited to get into it today.
• 0:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think the bottom line for the Jaguars and 2026 is that his development and his ability to contribute at a high level on both sides of the ball is the biggest key for the 2026 Jaguars.
• 0:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of other things that they can do to help improve their roster to develop as a
• 0:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: franchise as an organization, as a team for agency, the draft, internal development, but Travis Hunter and his ability to be a playmaker and impact player on the big, big moments and big, big plays throughout ball games is going to be critical for the 20, 20,
• 1:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: So we're here to talk about Travis Hunter, take a look at a couple other things as well that I think you can actually pin point as ways the Jaguar is probably need to improve, but Travis Hunter is the topic here for this show.
• 1:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm excited to talk about him really appreciate y'all tuning in.
• 1:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you enjoy the content, please like and subscribe.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I'll just check out jingjag.com.
• 1:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: Pick up some new dovall gear like that.
• 1:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm wearing right now.
• 1:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: So
• 1:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Travis Hunter, rookie year, you look at exactly how it went down from a production standpoint on both sides of the ball, reps all that type of stuff.
• 1:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was targeted 43 times on offense, 28 receptions, reception, percentage of 65%, 298 yards, 10 yards per catch, a touchdown, he had a couple of carries as well, overall a large chunk.
• 2:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: of his production came against the Los Angeles Rams in week seven, which is the week before he got hurt.
• 2:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: And this is, again, talking about wide receiver.
• 2:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that there was so much he did well at receiver on the vertical plane, crossing routes.
• 2:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think what you need to see him really improve as a receiver heading into year two is
• 2:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: is timing on outrouts and comebacks and comebacks is what we kind of saw an issue within my mind.
• 2:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: throughout the offseason and training camp.
• 2:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like, just the timing, getting in and out of that break, it's just not something he did a lot.
• 2:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: And it's not because he doesn't have the physical ability to do it.
• 2:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: Travis Hunter at six foot one, 190 pounds has the physical ability to do just about anything on the field from an athletic perspective in, from an endurance perspective in mentally.
• 3:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, he just needs to develop the timing, the technique, and just get more comfortable in that offense, more time on task with Trevor Lawrence.
• 3:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's just that the wide receiver position.
• 3:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: We're gonna talk about where I envision him playing more, and let's, I'm not gonna barely, I envision him playing more at corner.
• 3:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: This past year he played a little bit more at receiver, I believe.
• 3:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's see, the exact.
• 3:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: So he ended up with 323 reps on offense at receiver.
• 3:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: On defense, yeah, 162 reps. And there was a couple of games where it was close.
• 3:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: There was a couple of games where defensively and more heavily.
• 3:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: But they were trending in a direction to where he was getting more offensive snaps and less defensive snaps, right?
• 3:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that you're gonna trend in the opposite direction in year two.
• 4:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think you're gonna get more defensive snaps and less offensive snaps.
• 4:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: But I still think it can be a game plan, dependent sort of thing.
• 4:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: A in this moment, we need you more on this side of the ball.
• 4:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Again, this matchup, we need you more on this side of the ball.
• 4:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Or again, like a given moment, right?
• 4:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like, you might have a game plan going into a game.
• 4:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: The game's not going the way you expected.
• 4:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: You might have to pivot what you're doing a little bit and you should be able to do that.
• 4:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: But the Jaguars have three really good receivers on their team right now, in my opinion.
• 4:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jacobi Myers, Parker Washington, and Brian Thomas Jr.
• 4:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to go beyond that, obviously Britain's Strange is a very good receiver.
• 4:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: Travis E. T. N. if they bring him back as a very good receiver, I think Basel Tutan has a lot of talent as a receiver.
• 4:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so does Lee Quint Allen.
• 4:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: So there are receiving options beyond Travis Hunter,
• 4:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: at corner, he's clearly the guy.
• 4:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's clearly your number one corner outside entering 2026 right now.
• 5:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: Buster Brown and Greg Newsom are both had to be free agents.
• 5:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: I have been strongly on the side of the Jaguar should bring back Buster Brown just because I think his value to this football team.
• 5:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: is greater than what his cost will be because he is a scheme dependent type of player.
• 5:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: But he just so happens to be in the perfect type of scheme for his skill set.
• 5:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: And he is just kind of the epitome of what this coaching staff wants from a teammate, from a player, right?
• 5:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I would encourage them to bring Buster back and have it be Travis Hunter, Buster Brown.
• 5:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then Jarian Jones is your
• 5:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: third outside corner and one of your top nickels along with Jordan Lowe's who is recovering from the foot injury that he had the ended his season.
• 5:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: So that's how I'd be looking at it.
• 5:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: From a corner back perspective, where does he really need to improve?
• 5:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's just honing the craft a little bit, but I think he's already a stud.
• 6:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he's already a superstar corner.
• 6:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: honestly do.
• 6:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he's ready to go.
• 6:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Ready to compete at a super high level and pretty much every situation, whether it's man to man, whether it's zone, whether it be a lot more zone in Jacksonville, which gives him the opportunity to get his eyes on the football, his eyes in the quarterback and bait the quarterback and go make plays, which I would absolutely love to see.
• 6:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: So the thing is, there was, there's been some criticism,
• 6:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: At the time of the pick, after the pick, after the injury, especially of the jag wars, utilizing essentially two first round picks for Travis Hunter.
• 6:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, they also gave up a second round pick, but they were able to recruit some value.
• 6:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: So the crux of it is the two first round picks, basically giving up your first round pick for 2026 in a trade to get Travis Hunter,
• 7:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: Theoretically can impact the game on both sides and impact the game better than a lot of players would like better than two players could, right?
• 7:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like drafting a wider receiver and a corner.
• 7:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: or just drafting Travis Hunter and he can do both for you.
• 7:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, can you both do both full time, full time?
• 7:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: I don't think that's gonna be the plan.
• 7:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's going to be a little bit more focused than that.
• 7:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: But one of the criticisms was just like the Jaguar's usage of Travis Hunter.
• 7:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: I do think early on in 2025.
• 7:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Liam Cohen and company were trying to figure out the best way to utilize not only Travis Hunter, but also Brian Thomas Jr. and the rest of the receivers on the team.
• 7:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: They lost Britain's strange pretty early, then it had a bringing in Jacobi Myers.
• 7:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: Brian Thomas Jr. was battling through an inconsistent play and injuries.
• 7:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: So...
• 7:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: There was a lot of moving parts, and the Jack Wars were using Travis Hunter a lot as kind of this like Gadgety, get the ball in his hands, type of player, when in reality he's a game-breaking down the field receiver.
• 8:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: He can do everything as a receiver physically, elite hands, unbelievable athleticism, explosiveness, the ability to leap and go get the football, the ball tracking all of it there.
• 8:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, there's an immense skill set on both sides of the ball, immense, but I just need to be honed.
• 8:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: And the jag wars need to have probably a more focused plan, not necessarily practice plan.
• 8:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think they did a pretty good job without overall, but a more focused plan for a specific game.
• 8:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: for a specific week.
• 8:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: And part of that will be just continuing for him to develop mentally within both systems, offensively and defensively.
• 8:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think defensively, he's pretty much got it.
• 9:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he's there.
• 9:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he's ready to compete at the highest level and be a superstar.
• 9:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: Offensively, there was less detail in what they were doing offensively at Colorado, than what you're doing here in Jacksonville.
• 9:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: And part of the thing is,
• 9:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: when you've got a Liam Cohen offense and Trevor Lawrence started to operate at an extremely high level, you've got two to three plays when you get to the line of scrimmage and Trevor Lawrence is going to can or a lot of people are more accustomed to hearing kill, kill, or whatever it may be, but it's can, they can the play and they go to something else.
• 9:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: That can be really difficult for a young football player to wrap his mind around,
• 9:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: and knowing the right assignment, and again, having the right timing and spacing for work, everything.
• 9:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: So I expect Travis Hunter to make a major leap forward.
• 9:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: I expect him to have a year or two breakout where you saw flashes of all of the skill sets that you wanted to see.
• 10:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: And at corner again, I think he was playing really, really high level football as a corner as a rookie when he was out there.
• 10:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: At wider silver, it was a little bit more hit or miss,
• 10:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: you know, the Jaguar is still just trying to feel things out, but I think that he has the mental capacity, the endurance, and the skill level, athletically, and just as a receiver in corner, to make a huge impact.
• 10:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: for the Jaguars in year two, and he needs to.
• 10:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because the Jaguars, we always talk about how do they evolve, how do they push this thing forward?
• 10:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: You've got to try to evolve in other ways beyond just banking on Travis Hunter being that guy.
• 10:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: But you put a lot of eggs on that basket, and now you need to make it happen.
• 10:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Jaguars need to put Travis Hunter in a position to make an impact on the game worthy of two first round picks.
• 10:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's what they need to do.
• 11:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's a huge challenge for everyone, but I think it's right there in front of you.
• 11:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: One of the most talented players I've ever seen as a wider receiver and as a corner.
• 11:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: So he is the key to getting this team to the next level, the biggest key.
• 11:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: There are some other things, though, as well.
• 11:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Trayvon Walker.
• 11:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was injured a lot last year.
• 11:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think simply having a healthy Trayvon Walker, which
• 11:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: He hasn't been an injury-riddled player throughout his career.
• 11:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's been pretty healthy.
• 11:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think simply having a healthy tray of on-walker and now having figured out how to unlock the tray of on-walker and Josh Hines Allen do a little bit more by having them rush next to each other.
• 11:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that could be huge for the jacks.
• 11:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think you could see tray of on-walker with another double digit.
• 11:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: Zack season, I think you could see him again with improved past rush consistency.
• 11:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's already a great run defender and just a playmaker.
• 12:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's huge.
• 12:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: I also think, you know, if they keep Eric Garmstadt around, which I'm expecting that they will.
• 12:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not like 100% confident in that, but that's my best guess right now.
• 12:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: If they keep him around, he was not playing as well after he had his hand injury.
• 12:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like how, Trayvon Walker and Eric Garmstadt both had hand injuries last year just kind of a fluky thing.
• 12:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: But Eric Garmstadt,
• 12:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: before that hand injury, which happened mid to late season, he was playing at a higher level.
• 12:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: He absolutely was.
• 12:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's still ended up with a very productive overall year.
• 12:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I think, again, I commend him so much for what he did as a run defender against the bills.
• 12:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was so good in that regard.
• 12:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: So that was like a game plan thing where they're like, okay, we're not letting James cook beat us, we're not letting them gash us.
• 13:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: And they did the job there.
• 13:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Need to get a little bit more pressure, need to definitely have better coverage on the back end.
• 13:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: But look,
• 13:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think Eric Armstrong said being fully healthy, Trayvon Walker being fully healthy, I think that changes things a good bit for this defensive front.
• 13:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that is not me saying they don't need to find ways to evolve on the defensive front because I do.
• 13:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: And if you've been paying attention to this channel, I do believe that they need to add more pieces via for agency and the draft.
• 13:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: And that's our final point, you know, finding other ways to evolve besides Travis Hunter besides health on the defensive front.
• 13:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: adding, in my opinion, a John Franklin Myers or someone like that, in for agency.
• 13:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: There are multiple guys that can make impacts as past rushers from the interior out to like five technique in this upcoming for agency cycle.
• 13:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Glaze Campbell, right?
• 13:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: There's guys out there and then I think adding
• 14:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: at least one edge in the draft as well, edge player, edge rusher.
• 14:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think can be a big way to evolve.
• 14:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think as I've mentioned a million times, finding ways to evolve on offense, being a better 12 person altim, being a better 13 person altim.
• 14:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Look, earlier today I talked about, why not sign K-Dotten, who has experienced in this system was very productive in this system and outside of the system as well.
• 14:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: You have now two tight ends that can really impact the game in multiple ways to reliable guys, Britain strange and K-Dot and get them on the field together.
• 14:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: These are just some different ways to evolve.
• 14:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: I've talked about too, I think that.
• 14:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: balance is important.
• 14:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you go into next season and you're passing the ball as much as you were down the stretch and like how you were against the bills instead of running the ball more I think that that could be problematic but I will say this.
• 15:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're going to be prepared for what defenses are trying to do to them most likely because again when they get to the line of scrimmage Trevor Lawrence is able to diagnose what's happening and get to the second play
• 15:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: You'd like to have that happen a little bit quicker this year.
• 15:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's definitely one thing they can try to improve.
• 15:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's just getting the ball snapped a little bit quicker.
• 15:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: But they're also not trying to snap it with five to 10 seconds left every time.
• 15:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: They don't mind getting down to two, three, even a second left on the clock and snapping it.
• 15:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: So there's a balance there, a fine line there.
• 15:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: I would like to see them be more balanced, offensively just running the ball more and eating up more clock, all that good stuff
• 15:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: but I also think improving the passing game via a K-Dot and via Travis Hunter back on the field.
• 15:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: These types of things could be a really big deal for the Jaguars.
• 16:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: So that's my little spiel.
• 16:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: Travis Hunter, pretty dang important.
• 16:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you didn't know, Trayvon Walker, Eric Armstrong did, also very important.
• 16:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Adding to that front, very important.
• 16:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm also all the way in on bringing Buster Groundback, but if you don't, there's a lot of corners out there that could make
• 16:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: the draft.
• 16:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: So a lot of avenues for the Jaguars to push this thing forward.
• 16:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: I can't wait to see how James Gladstone and Liam Cohen handle this in their first full off season.
• 16:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: Let's let's me honest.
• 16:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's what it is.
• 16:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: Last year they were flying by the seat of their pants a little bit and that's not to say they were not prepared but it was all coming together very quickly.
• 16:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: I really appreciate y'all tuning in.
• 16:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you enjoy the content here please like and subscribe y'all